Come Back to Me
by BeautifulMessenger
Summary: "Alice," My voice was trembling even as I attempted to sound severe. "You had damned well better come back alive, or I will be following right behind Edward." She laughed. But it was a forced laugh that sounded halfway like a sob. Canon, A/J
1. Part 1

I finished typing the last few lines in my essay on logic and reasoning; homework for one of the courses I was taking at Cornell. It wasn't going to be due for weeks. But I had to have _something_ to do. Something to distract me from the emptiness.

I stared at the completed essay on the computer screen, three thousand words longer than required. It had been the last bit of homework I had to do. And now I had to find something new to occupy my mind.

I growled low in my chest as the emptiness, having never really vanished, started aching and spreading again.

Rosalie, standing by the large windows that looked out into the Denali forests, sighed in exasperation. My mood was apparently irritating her.

"She'll be back, Jasper. If you were going to be this upset about it you could have just gone with her."

But I couldn't have. This whole cussed situation was my fault. One tiny, unexpected whiff of fresh-spilled blood and I'd been a monster again. Lunging and snapping at the center of my brother's universe. I could only imagine how I would have reacted if he'd attacked _Alice_ in the same manner.

I shuddered. He'd let me off easy.

I couldn't go against Edward's wishes. Even though Bella had committed suicide. It wasn't right to interfere. Even if Charlie was going to take it so poorly, it still wasn't right for us to get involved.

Alice had not seen it that way.

_"I have to go, Jasper. I can't let Charlie... He's my family, too."_

_"No, Alice. We promised, remember? Let him be." My hand gripped tightly to her wrist, restraining her as she tried to escape out the front door._

_"I can't Jazz!" she sobbed. "I have to... Please?"_

_My grip loosened. She gave me one last anguished look. Then sprinted for the Mercedes._

I played that look over and over again in my head. I remembered the pain that had been consuming her. Bella had been her best friend. Her sister. She'd loved her as dearly as any of our other family members. Perhaps even more.

Not that I hadn't been fond of the Swan girl. I'd liked her quite a lot, actually. She was endearing, selfless, and amusingly awkward. I was sorry for her loss.

But it was still wrong for us to interfere!

I groaned softly and pushed away from the computer. It had been over twenty four hours since Alice left. I debated whether or not to call her cell, to see what was going on, to at least hear her voice. Was she angry with me still? Had she kept Charlie from taking his own life? Was she coming back?

I hated this distance between us. So much worse than physical distance. We almost never fought. Not because we never had differing views, but because one of us - or usually both - would concede for the other. I would do anything, endure anything, be anything for her. And, miraculously, she loved me just as much as I loved her. But this was the biggest conflict we had ever been in. This was the first time I had ever _really_ been angry with her.

"Jeez, Jasper. Maybe you should go hunting again," Rosalie griped.

I glared at her.

She rolled her eyes.

Rosalie felt irritated and on edge right now, too. And not just because of my influence. It had bothered her when Alice insisted we not call Edward and tell him the news. She didn't agree. Rosalie thought we ought to tell him right away. I wasn't certain if it was some sort of sadistic vengeance for him making the rest of the family miserable for the past seven months or what. Maybe she thought he would get over Bella and come home. If so, she seriously underestimated the depth of his feelings for her. They reminded me of how much I cared for Alice.

Rosalie let out another exasperated sigh.

Hunting didn't sound like such a bad idea, actually. It would be something to do. I stood and marched outside, then sprinted through the lawn and into the trees, intent on finding the nearest thing I could tear to pieces.

I spent the next few hours hunting. I took down a few deer, just for something to do. But I was not truly thirsty. The scorching burn was not in my throat.

It was past dusk now. The house would be empty except for Rosalie and Emmett. They wouldn't appreciate being around me, not in the mood I was in. So I wandered aimlessly in the wilderness for the rest of the night.

I contemplated finding Carlisle, to have someone to talk to. He and Esme hadn't been back to the house for days, not since before Alice had seen the fateful vision, so they didn't know what had happened with Bella yet. But, in the end, I decided to let them have their private time undisturbed. They would find out about it eventually.

The sun rose behind heavy clouds. The emptiness in my chest ached. I started to feel violent again. I punched a tree next to me, trying to release some of the strain, it shuddered and split up the center.

_Damn it, Alice! Why did you **do** this to me?_

I winced. Yelling at her felt like blasphemy, even if it was just in my head. And even though I was furious.

Emmett was probably out hunting by now. Maybe I could find him and challenge him to a fight. Strangely, I _wanted_ to fight. I wanted to beat something into pulp or rip something to shreds right now.

I decided to track him down, I knew his usual spots.

After a while I found his trail and followed it. He was several hours north. My mood only worsened as I ran. The emptiness in my chest throbbed.

"Hey, Jasper!" Emmett called to me. He was face to face with a grizzly. The bear roared and took a swipe at him the moment he was distracted. Emmett dodged the blow and roared, mockingly, back at the bear. He liked to play with his food. Then he launched at the creature, taking it down easily.

I waited until he was finished.

"So what's up?" he asked.

"I need to hit something, Emmett."

He grinned. "Well all right, then. Let's go!"

I didn't hesitate at his invitation. I snarled, launching myself at him.

After nearly fifty years of sparring with me, learning from me, Emmett was much more skilled than he had been when we first met. He was stronger than me, too. But, even so, I was still the best fighter in the family. Faster than Emmett. Stronger than Edward. And more skilled than both of them put together.

I had Emmett pinned in less than ten seconds.

"Damn, bro!" He winced as I bent his arm and neck in unnatural ways.

"Sorry," I growled, releasing him. He rubbed his shoulder, flexing it experimentally.

"Still no word from Alice?" he asked, getting up and starting to walk back.

I glared at the ground as we slowly made our way in the direction of the house.

"She's gonna be okay, you know. Alice can take care of herself."

"I know that."

"Then what's bothering you?"

I took a deep breath. Emmett hadn't been there to witness the turmoil when it had happened.

"I was angry with her when she left. I still am. It's killing me."

Emmett's eyes grew wider for a brief moment in understanding. Then he was grinning again.

"Don't worry about it. In the end, it can actually be a good thing," he chuckled at some private joke.

"What do you mean?" I growled. I wasn't in any kind of mood for jokes.

"Well, you two don't fight much. But, let me tell you, sometimes I'll pick a fight with Rose on purpose just for the amazing make-up sex afterwords." His big booming laugh filled the forest around us.

I glared at the ground again. Emmett made no secret about his and Rosalie's extremely physical relationship. But that he would insinuate that any physical gratification might make this suffering worthwhile was ludicrous.

"C'mon! I'll race you back!" he shouted, punching me in the arm, harder than necessary.

_Ouch_.

He sprinted ahead.

I snarled. I knew that I was in an extremely bad mood. And that I was overreacting. But still the provocation was a welcome distraction. I raced after Emmett, not trying to beat him to the house. The beating would come before we ever made it there.

He had a head start, but I caught up with him. He sensed my intentions a moment before I was upon him.

Trees snapped and boulders shattered as we battered one another. I let him pound on me a little more than I usually would. The physical pain helped distract me, and helped prolong the fight too.

If Esme had been here she would have stopped us before we'd gotten anywhere near this brutal. But I needed to pummel something. And Emmett, thank goodness, was a willing and somewhat deserving recipient of my violence.

I'd just hurled my brother into a giant cedar. The tree wobbled wildly but didn't fall. Emmett was snarling a crazy stream of profanity at me when we heard it.

"Emmett!" Rosalie screamed in the distance. "Emmett, _help!"_

Emmett shot me a panicked look and we raced back toward the house.

Rosalie met us at the edge of the lawn.

"What is it, baby? What's the matter?" Emmett asked.

"Alice called!" she sobbed.

_Oh, dear Lord! Not Alice! _My knees felt suddenly weak.

"And?" Emmett probed.

"It's... It's Edward!"

"Edward?" I asked. The weakness faded a little, but I was still worried. Something was very wrong. I'd never felt Rosalie this distraught before.

"He's... I..." she was sputtering, not coherent.

"Calm down, Rosalie," I said, resting my hand on her shoulder and sending a steady stream of tranquility into her. "What happened. Start from the beginning."

"I...called Edward."

"What?" Emmett and I asked in unison.

"I thought it would be better. I thought he would want to know, that he wouldn't appreciate us keeping this from him. I thought he would come home. After all, she's just a _human_. It's not like he was going to change her..."

"Then what happened?" I interrupted her rambling.

"He hung up on me. Then a little while later Alice called." She looked at me with tortured eyes. "Bella isn't dead. And Edward is going to try to kill himself."

I removed my hand from her shoulder.

"Wait. Bella's... _not_ dead?" Emmett asked, with a wave of confusion and relief.

"I don't know how. Alice was so certain. But now Edward think's she's dead. And I told him... And now he's going to..."

"He's going to Italy," I said.

They both looked at me. Shocked and appalled.

"How do you know that?" Emmett asked.

"Alice told me once... She said that when we were on our way to the ballet studio, to stop James, Edward was making plans to get himself killed if we didn't make it in time."

"He's going to the Volturi?" Rosalie gasped.

"Undoubtedly. It's the surest way."

"What do we do?" Emmett asked, desperately.

They watched me, waiting expectantly.

In all vampire covens, vegetarian or not, there is an instinctive chain of command. In ours it only really comes in to play in moments of crisis. Carlisle was unquestionably the leader. If he wasn't around, then Edward was next in command. This was the first time a crisis had arisen and neither Carlisle nor Edward was available. It seemed the weight of authority was mine to bear this time.

"I'll wait here for Carlisle and Esme. You two get to the airport as fast as you can. We have to get ahead of Edward and stop him before he gets to Volterra. I'll call you as soon as I have news."

They nodded. Rosalie darted upstairs to grab money and passports while Emmett raced to the garage and fetched Tanya's Mitsubishi. It was faster than his Jeep.

They were both in the car in less than two seconds and the tires squealed loudly as Emmett peeled out onto the road. They'd be at Fairbanks airport in less than two hours.

I paced the spacious living room nervously. Wishing there was something more I could do. I couldn't go fetch Carlisle and Esme. There was zero cell reception in the wilderness where they were.

I would have called Alice. But I knew well that she would be trying to _see_ ways to save our brother. A call might interrupt her. And, in a situation like this, _she_ would call _me_ as soon as she was able.

I continued pacing as the time ticked by. Waiting for Carlisle and Esme. Waiting for Alice to call. Waiting for _anything_ to happen. What was taking her so long? After about an hour and a half the phone finally rang. It was an unfamiliar number. She must be calling from an airplane.

"Alice?"

"Rosalie filled you in?" Her voice was strained.

"Yes," I growled. "Is he planning to just _ask_ them?"

"Yes, that's his plan now. But I don't think that they'll do it. Aro doesn't want to offend Carlisle."

"So he'll do something to provoke them." I was starting to feel panicky. If Edward provoked the Volturi while Alice was there...

"Right."

"What exactly is he planning to do?"

"I can't be sure. I keep seeing him do different things, he keeps changing his mind."

"What _kinds_ of things?"

"A killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square...mostly things that would expose them - he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction." _No, no, no... _Unforgivable sins.

"Is there any chance you can catch him before he reaches Volterra?"

There was a short pause, and then she whispered, "No," just loud enough for the phone's receiver to pick it up.

I felt like Emmett had just punched me in the gut. "What is your connecting flight? I'll meet you there."

"No, you can't."

"Emmett and Rosalie are coming, too." I continued, as if she hadn't spoken.

"Tell Emmett no."

"They're are already on their way to the airport."

"Well go after Emmett and Rosalie and bring them back."

"Why would I do that?"

"Think about it, Jasper. If he see's any of us, what do you think he will do?"

I groaned. "He'll rush into it to keep us from stopping him." It was all too easy to put myself in Edward's shoes right now.

"Exactly. I think Bella is the only chance - if there is a chance."

"_Is_ there a chance?" I knew, far too well, how the Italians treated the "accomplices" of criminals. And that's exactly what Alice would be if she were caught in Volterra with Edward when he broke the law.

"I'll do everything that can be done. But prepare Carlisle - the odds aren't good."

_Oh, God!_

"Alice..." My voice was trembling even as I attempted to sound severe. "You had damned well better come back alive, or I will be following right behind Edward."

She laughed. But it was a forced laugh that sounded halfway like a sob. "I've thought of that."

"I'm not kidding, Alice. Promise me!"

"Yes, I promise."

I didn't believe her. "I'm coming - "

"Don't follow me," she begged. Real, earnest pleading in here voice. "I promise, Jasper. One way or another I'll get out."

"Alice, I love you."

"And I love you."

Silence.

Somehow my legs stopped working. I fell to my knees, staring at the little silver phone in my hand.

She'd said that she would make it out alive. She'd promised.

I hated it when she lied to me.


	2. Part 2

"Did she say she would call?" Carlisle asked from the other side of the room.

"No," I whispered, not moving. My voice wasn't working properly anymore. Everything I said came out either in a groan or a sob.

"I still think we should have gone anyway," Emmett grumbled. Also from the other side of the room.

They were all over there, huddled against the far wall, as far away from me as physically possible. I was sitting on the ground, legs to my chest and face buried in my knees. In the exact spot where I'd collapsed after that dreadful phone call.

I'd called Rosalie and Emmett as soon as I'd been able to think again, telling them to come back. They'd been moments from boarding their plane.

When Carlisle and Esme returned I explained everything to them, robotically reciting the events of the last forty eight hours. When I'd gotten to the part about the phone call is when my voice had started betraying me.

Tanya and the others had returned shortly after Carlisle and Esme. I was in no way able to control the outpouring of my anguish. So, even though Esme had bravely sat by my side with her arm around my shoulders for a few hours, eventually all of them retreated from the sickening torture that radiated from me.

"So, how will you know...?" Tanya asked Carlisle.

"I don't... We won't know. Unless someone calls," Carlisle answered in hushed tones, full of sorrow and dismay.

"Aro respects you. I'm sure he would have someone call if...you know..." Eleazar murmured.

Esme choked out another sob.

Rosalie just sat in Emmett's arms on the couch radiating dismay and guilt.

The rest were mostly shocked and horrified. All of their emotions registered as ripples in my sea of agony.

"How long...do you think...?" Kate whispered.

"There's no way to know. That depends on Edward."

I started tuning them out. I didn't want to listen to their speculations anymore. I had too many swarming around in my own mind. Little pieces of the puzzle fitting together in my head, revealing a ghastly picture.

Alice had told us not to come, because if Edward was aware of our presence he would act rashly. So Alice, herself, would not be able to get close to him.

She'd said that Bella was our only chance. And since Edward could not read her mind, he would need to _see_ her to be convinced that she was alive. And amidst the narrow streets and high walls of Volterra, Bella would need to be very close for him to see her.

Therefore, In order for Alice and Bella to succeed, Bella would need to run, on her own, through an unfamiliar city, and in a highly agitated state of mind, to reach Edward. That was the _best_ case scenario. And that was only if Edward didn't decide to provoke the Volturi in some way before she got to him.

This was impossible. _Impossible! _He would do something outrageous. They would kill him. And then they would, no doubt, consume Bella and execute Alice, too.

I groaned as agony twisted sickeningly in my gut.

I could see it. I didn't have to imagine what they would do. I'd seen it with my own eyes in the south when they'd come to settle out-of-control armies. I'd seen the carnage, swift and vicious and irresistible.

Then she would be gone.

I felt diamond-hard arms wrap around my shoulders. Esme again. She rested her forehead against my hair and sobbed with me. She was mourning for three of her children. Her sorrow was profoundly deep. This tragedy would scar her for eternity. But her world would not end. She would still have Carlisle and Emmett and Rosalie.

She would lose Edward and Bella.

She would lose Alice.

She would lose _me_.

If only there had been some way that I could have gone instead.

A new, fresh agony ripped through me then. I suddenly realized that if I _had_ gone with her in the beginning, when she wanted to return to Forks, it could be _me_ driving Bella through the tuscan countryside toward our untimely end. I would have found a way to make Alice stay behind. She could have been safe... if I'd only gone with her!

I didn't wail in the agony. I didn't roar in fury at myself. The only outward indication of my fresh inner torment was Esme. She released me with a choked gasp and retreated once again to the far side of the room, with a whispered "I'm sorry, Jasper."

The others continued their hushed conversations as the hours passed.

In my mind I was calculating the time in Italy, trying to determine when their plane would arrive in Florence, how long it would take for Alice to steal a car, how long it would take for her to drive Bella to Volterra. From there I was somewhat at a loss. I was pretty sure that Edward would act before sunset. If he was planning to flout the rules he would do so when there were plenty of humans to witness it, not after dark.

Hours ticked by one after another as I imagined what she must be doing. Flying over the Atlantic; landing; probably getting a vehicle; driving by now, certainly.

The agony somehow managed to intensify when I realized that they must finally be in the city. Every second that passed felt like a throbbing, searing pain. Like my heart had impossibly started to beat again, only to tear itself to pieces. Every passing moment could've been the last moment Alice existed in this world.

It was almost surreal that I didn't have some intangible connection to her, telling me whether she was still alive or not. Surely, the moment she ceased to be the whole world would cave in around me.

We would know by sunset, their time. If no call came...

I managed to pick myself up off of the floor and stare out the windows into the darkness. It was two thirty in the morning here. Half past noon in Volterra. The sun would set a few minutes before six for them. Less than six hours to go.

"What is it, Jasper?" Carlisle asked. I noticed with some surprise, that he was the only one in the room with me anymore.

"There isn't much time left before we'll know for sure," I whispered. "Five more hours, six at the most."

"What makes you think so?"

"Sunset. He'd do it before sunset. And if Alice can stop him, she'll call. If not, then...she probably won't."

I closed my eyes, fighting the raking pain those words caused me.

"Alice is an amazing creature," Carlisle murmured, almost as if to himself. "If anyone can do this, she can. I have to believe that there is yet hope."

Hope was the only reason I was still in this room, waiting with bated breath for that damned phone to ring. Hope was the reason I was not racing to the airport this very moment to end my pointless existence. I would not bother asking kindly for the Italians to put me out of my suffering. One quick hunting trip in their royal city would suffice.

But there was not much hope. And what hope I had continued to drain steadily out of me as every minute passed in tortured silence.

As the appointed time finally arrived I moved to stand by the end table next to the couch, where the phone rested. The agony and emptiness in my chest was slowly eclipsed by an intense sensation of anxious anticipation.

It was the moment of truth. The sun was setting in the Tuscan city. If she didn't call now, she probably never would. The rest of the family returned, gathering around the phone, hoping to hear some news. I barely noticed them.

A minute ticked by. Then another. And another.

Nothing.

I waited five more minutes, oblivious to the dry weeping of several family members around me.

_Alice... _My mind whispered her name softly once; like a delicate breeze that, even so, drops the last dry leaf of autumn.

_No...No! Please, Alice. Please! _My body was frozen as cold blackness seemed to creep up around me.

_NO! Damn it! NO! You can't be gone! No, Alice! Call! Please, call! Please! PLEASE!_

I stood frozen for another minute as a suffering I had never known before crushed me. It swallowed me whole, drowning me in merciless, impossible agony.

She was gone. My Alice...gone forever.

**Author's Note: Before you freak out, this story IS true to the books. Don't worry. Jasper only believes that Alice is dead.** **I love reviews. And if you like this one, please take a look at my other stories. :)**


	3. Part 3

The phone rang.

My mind froze. Even with the perfect recall of a vampire I hardly believed what I'd heard.

Nine pairs of golden eyes flashed to the silver phone on the end table and then to me. Waiting.

The phone rang again.

In one fluid movement I picked it up, flipped it open, and held it to my ear.

"Jasper!"

The grief in the room instantly melted into amazed relief at the warped, muted sound of Alice's voice coming through the tiny speaker.

"Alice!" I gasped. "I thought - "

"I know, Jazz. I know. I'm fine. We're all fine. I'll call you again from the plane, I promise. Listen, I can't talk for long I need to go hot-wire a car now. We'll be landing at Sea-Tac at seven tomorrow morning. Have the family meet us there, okay?" Her voice sounded like Heaven to me.

"Of course."

"And... Jasper?"

"Yes?"

"I missed you."

I laughed, still dizzy with bewildered relief. "Not half as much as I missed you."

There was a soft click when she hung up the phone.

I looked up to see Carlisle and Esme were fiercely embracing one another, overcome with joy. Emmett, too, was profoundly relieved, he was bent over with his face in his hands. Rosalie was just staring blankly, but I could feel that her emotions, were a mixture of shock, joy, guilt, and happiness. The Denali sisters were all embracing one another and laughing excitedly. Even Eleazar was very relieved to know that none of our family had perished last night.

"Jasper..." Esme came and hugged me tightly around my waist. I might normally have been a bit uncomfortable with that. But as it was, I hugged her back gratefully.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"We all love her, too, you know."

"I know."

"It looks like we're moving back to Forks?" Carlisle asked.

"It sounded like that was the plan."

"I didn't much care for the busy city life in L.A., anyway." Esme teased. We'd told the good people of Forks that Carlisle had gotten a better job offer in California to explain our sudden move last September.

"It's a good thing Alice made us leave all our furniture there, then," Carlisle chuckled.

We took some time to pack up a few of our things and say goodbye to our extended family. Then Tanya and Eleazar drove us to the Fairbanks airport since Carlisle's car was in Seattle and all we had with us was Emmett's Jeep.

We were in the terminal waiting for our plane when my phone rang again. I answered it immediately this time.

"Alice?"

"Jasper," she breathed.

"You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."

"I'm really sorry I didn't call you sooner. They have a transmission jammer set up in that castle of theirs. And they wouldn't let us leave until after sunset," she explained.

"It's okay Alice. I'm just..._very_ grateful that you're all right. What happened?" I _was _curious, but mostly I just wanted to keep hearing her voice.

Alice told me the entire story. How Bella had gone cliff diving and nearly drowned. How one of Bella's friends had told Edward that Charlie was at a funeral. How Edward had assumed that it was Bella's funeral. And then how they'd raced to Volterra.

I was shocked and worried when she told me that, on the way to Italy, she'd promised Bella that she would change her. But I wasn't angry, it was impossible for me to be angry with Alice right now. I smiled at the undisguised lust in her tone when she described the yellow Porsche 911 Turbo she'd lifted. I restrained snarls when she detailed their encounter with the guard; how they'd been brought to the throne room and threatened; how Aro had read Alice's thoughts and finally let them leave only because he was averse to destroying her talent. He wanted to _own_ her.

"Oh, and we also had to promise that Bella would become a vampire someday," she added as a side note.

"That's pretty much a given anyway after this ordeal, isn't it?" I asked.

"I know. But Edward still isn't convinced yet."

"That kid has problems."

She laughed a quiet, musical laugh and I ached to have her with me. Just to see her face again.

We hung up when it was time for us to board our plane. It was only a three and a half hour flight to Seattle from Fairbanks. When we landed Emmett and Rosalie went downstairs to rent a car while Carlisle made his way to the parking garage to try to find his Mercedes. Esme and I sat on a bench in the shadow of a pillar in the ticketing area to wait.

After a couple of hours Carlisle returned.

"Alice is going to have to tell me where she hid my keys," he murmured, smoothly sitting on Esme's other side and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Emmett and Rosalie?" she asked.

"They're waiting in the rental car. Rosalie is pretty upset, still."

I sat, nearly motionless as more hours ticked by. By now it felt like my whole life's purpose was waiting for Alice to come back to me.

The last image I had of her in my mind was painful to remember. Her face had been a picture of anguish as she mourned Bella's presumed death, begged for me to let her leave, and was filled with confusion and anger that I would not approve of her returning to Forks. I yearned to replace that image with a new one.

Carlisle spent the hours calling various contacts, arranging for our cars to be shipped to our house in Forks, calling the hospital in Ithaca to set up his pending severance, calling Cornell to explain that he'd had a family emergency and would unfortunately need to abandon his position as a part-time professor.

The sun slowly rose over the cascades in the east. I stood to check the flight board. Delta 2365 from Atlanta was going to be on time.

Without thinking my feet carried me in the direction of concourse A. I couldn't cross through the security checkpoint, but I would be as close as close to her as I physically could when she arrived.

My eyes flicked back and forth between the flight board and the clock as the last minutes ticked by.

Then the flight status changed from "on time" to "landed".

I stood where I was, completely forgetting to fidget or shift my weight as a human would. My eyes were trained on the hallway, on the corner around which Alice would be walking any moment.

My mind registered all three of them as they came into view. Edward was there, practically carrying Bella as she shuffled through the aisle.

But Alice was the only one I could really see.

Her golden eyes lifted, looking immediately to where she knew I waited. She sprang to my side in a moment. Her scent crashed over me. Her eyes met mine. Our fingers wove together and I could feel all the things she wanted to say flowing from her in a symphony of emotion. And finally..._finally _we were home.

_I lied to you. I'm sorry, _her eyes whispered.

_I know. You're already forgiven._

_I saw what you were planning._

_I'm sorry. For everything._

_I understand why. I forgive you._

_I love you._

_And I love you._


	4. Part 4

We stood in the busy, noisy airport, crowds of humans shuffling past us, for several minutes just...staring. If I had been human I was sure I'd have had tears streaming down my face.

After a while Alice's mouth twitched at the corner, like she wasn't certain if she was going to smile or not. Her eyes glinted with some playful secret.

"Carlisle and Esme are waiting for us by the car." Her soft, musical voice wrapped around me like a warm embrace.

When I didn't move, her lips twitched up again in amusement. I smiled down at her and she grinned wryly in response.

"Then, by all means, we should not keep Carlisle and Esme waiting," I murmured.

Her eyes closed for a moment, but she was not seeing the future. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her tiny frame was flooded with happiness, peace, completeness, and hope. It was remarkably similar to what I'd felt from her that very first day when, thirsty and depressed, I'd wandered into a random little diner in Philadelphia to get out of the storm.

She opened her eyes again, her smile soft and glowing, then led me toward the parking garage. And, just like that first day, I would have gladly followed her to the ends of the earth, so long as we were together.

Carlisle and Esme _were_ waiting for us, of course, just as Alice had said. Esme was beaming with all the doting affection of a proud and relieved mother. She hugged Alice tightly.

"Thank you so much," she choked out, her face pressed against Alice's spiky hair.

"It was my mistake. So it was my responsibility to take care of it," Alice deflected.

"No, Alice. We can't expect you to be omniscient. We owe you," Carlisle insisted.

Alice smiled at him then ducked down to retrieve his keys from where she'd stashed them, tucked under the frame of the car.

"Ah, so that's where..." Carlisle murmured as she tossed the keys lightly to him. Then we climbed into the back seat together.

Even driving like a vampire, it still took hours to get back to Forks from SeaTac. Carlisle avoided the ferries, opting instead to drive the whole way round. None of us spoke, we were simply happy to be together again.

The scenery outside the windows changed in familiar ways as the hours passed. The sprawling city. The Tacoma Narrows bridge. A bizarre strip of undeveloped forest and farmland off of highway sixteen. The warships and aircraft carriers docked at the Naval station in Puget Sound. Crossing the floating Hood canal bridge with choppy water lapping at one side and a glass-smooth surface on the other. Past acres and acres of pungent lavender farms. More wide farmland with the occasional herd of elk or deer daring to venture into the open fields. Then the quaint little town of Port Angeles.

We took a familiar left on a seemingly insignificant street which continued out of town and on south, winding its way through the trees, past randomly scattered homes and convenience stores, past miles of shoreline along Lake Crescent and then finally, a few miles before we actually entered Forks proper, we turned onto our hidden unpaved driveway.

Even though I was glad to be back, even as beautiful as our house would be to me right now, what I really longed for was to spend time with Alice... _alone_. _Really _alone. With no supernatural hearing or mind-reading brothers intruding on the words we spoke just for one another.

Alice must have sensed my mood, or perhaps she saw a vision of me asking her to come away with me. Either way, the moment we were out of the car she took my hand and dismissed Carlisle and Esme with a quick, "We'll be back!"

We were racing away through the trees before they could even ask.

There was a little clearing about six miles north of the house, in the center of which was a giant flat-topped boulder. During the summer tall sweetgrass grew, sending drifts of warm sunny fragrance into the air. In the early springtime, Alice would scatter handfuls of wildflower seeds about the lawn, watching her future creation unfold behind her eyes as though she were a painter and the world was her canvas.

But it was the end of the winter now, the very cusp of spring. The grass was dry with the barest hint of the sunny vanilla-like scent it sometimes held. The flowers were all either dead or dormant. Still, this was a peaceful, secluded spot. And Alice climbed on top of the monstrous flat stone, just as she always did, with a little sigh of contentment

I climbed up and sat behind her, wrapping my arms around her small shoulders and burying my face in her hair for several minutes in silence.

"Alice," I whispered finally, not trusting my voice.

"Mmm?" Her body was flooding with satisfaction and happiness in my embrace.

"Do not ever, _ever, _do that to me again!"

Her mood shifted to somber. "I know, Jasper. It was hard for me, too. When I saw you..." She shuddered delicately in my arms and I felt a tremor of terror, horror, and hopelessness that faintly echoed the agony I'd experienced the previous day. "I wish I hadn't seen it. I wish I could get it out of my head..."

She suddenly twisted around so she was facing me, straddling my lap. She reached up to hold my face between her small, feminine hands and her honey-gold eyes bore into mine with scolding, fiery intensity.

She didn't say anything. There were no words for how she felt in that moment. She just let everything she was feeling - fear, relief, horror, anxiety, happiness, hope, regret, longing, impatience, shame, joy - pour into me, and I accepted it greedily. It was a crazy kaleidoscope of emotion. But somehow it all made sense coming from her.

I lifted my hand from where it had been resting on her thigh and stroked her cheek, trying to ease the tumult boiling inside of her. But my action only sparked a new, powerful sensation. One I knew very well and was more than pleased to reciprocate.

I gazed at her curiously for a moment, wondering if this was what she really wanted right now.

_Yes, Please!_ her eyes seemed to beg me.

I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers once...and again. I felt my breath hitch and tremble at the light contact. After what we'd just been through the gesture was particularly intense.

Her silky fingers wandered down my neck to the front of my shirt, deftly and swiftly undoing every single button. I trembled when her light fingers grazed over the skin of my abdomen. Her eyes met mine with a small, knowing smile and she slid the offensive article off my shoulders. Her impatient hands then moved to her blouse and I watched, mesmerized while she likewise discarded her own shirt.

Vampire women do not need to wear undergarments. And Alice only ever did if she found some new enticing and expensive piece of lingerie she hoped to tempt me with - she had yet to even come _close_ to failing in that task. But that had not been the case the last time she'd dressed herself. So it was over her gloriously bare torso that my hands now effortlessly glided, caressing every sacred curve of her body.

Eventually she propped herself up onto her knees, all the better for her mouth to reach mine. All the easier for me to slide her dark designer blue jeans down the marble skin of her thighs.

She wrapped her slender arms around my waist and traced the small crescent-shaped patterns peppered over my back, sending electric waves of pleasure coursing through my body. My mouth met hers again, greedily tasting her sweet venom on my tongue.

I sometimes wondered what Alice thought about in these moments; whether she used her second vision at all. I could feel how completely and utterly absorbed she was in the experience. Usually intense situations made it more difficult for her to see the world in the present. Heightened emotions seemed to heighten her foresight.

Still, her whole body trembled with almost surprised pleasure as our bodies recklessly joined into one and I moved smoothly within her.

Right then, alone and joined with my love, my life, my _wife_, I was struck by the absolute rightnessof the moment. We were together. We were _meant_ to be together. Regardless of our circumstances or outside influences, I would do whatever was in my power to make sure we were never again apart.

Our lips separated for a moment and I gazed seriously into her eyes, delightfully heavy with pleasure.

"Alice," I murmured, gazing down at her.

Her bright golden orbs opened slowly and rested curiously on my face.

"You do realize I'm never going to let you leave my side again."

She laughed lightly, the movement sending interesting sensations through our bodies.

Her lips met mine again, eagerly.

"Together," she breathed, washing her warm vanilla-rose scent over my face.

"Together," I agreed.

**Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this delightful venture into Jasper's mind as much as I did. In case anyone was wondering, I am a Pacific Northwest local and have driven between SeaTac (yes, that is actually a city)** **and Forks many times. The scenery I described is what you would see if you were to make the drive. Only, for a human ;-) , it would take about five hours to get from the airport to the Cullen's house.** **Please review! And if you liked this, you might enjoy my other stories, too!**


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